Bone fixation systems for treating bone conditions are known. Surgical fixation plates may be used in a variety of orthopedic applications to stabilize, mend, align, or alter the compression of a patient's bones. A bone plate may be positioned over an injured area and secured to the bone, such as by bone screws.
A misalignment of the bone screws with the holes in the bone plate or improperly seated screws can cause tissue damage or an unstable connection of the plate to the bone. Thus, to ensure proper alignment of the bone screws with the holes in the bone plate, a drill guide is often used to assist the surgeon during the surgical procedure.
A separate plate holder may be used to place the plate at the target site. A drill guide may engage or abut the bone plate and generally includes a guide tube for receiving a drill bit therethrough. The drill guide may align with and/or lock to the screw holes of the bone plate to hold the drill guide steady while a hole is drilled into the bone. Alternatively, the drill guide may be connected to a different part of the bone plate so as not to interfere with the screw holes. If the drill guide is not configured to receive a screw therethrough, it may be removed from the bone plate after the hole has been drilled in the bone. However, since the plate may move before the bone screws are implanted, some drill guides are designed to also receive the screws therethrough.
US Patent Publication 2006/0189997 to Guenther et al. describes a drill guide for cervical plating that includes an alignment pin that can pass through the bone plate and into the bone. US Patent Publication 2008/0077152 to McClintock et al. describes a cervical drill guide that include a protrusion that engages the bone plate by a friction fit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,436,103 to Suddaby describes a drill guide including a plate attachment mechanism with arms to engage recesses of the bone plate. US Patent Publication 2007/0093848 describes a cervical drill guide that includes an extension member having a plurality of expandable fingers to engage a hole of the plate. U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,119 to Stihl describes a drill guide that can also be used as a plate holder, including an attachment mechanism and a locator pin. US Patent Publication 2009/0024132, U.S. Pat. No. 7,763,029, U.S. Pat. No. 7,488,327, U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,721, US Patent Publication 2005/0137606, U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,057, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,216 also describe drill guides with various alignment mechanisms to connect to bone plates. Other secure mechanisms for anchoring a drill guide to a bone plate are needed.